“Miss Julie Luca.” Risti rang a bell. “We, guardians charged to defend the stability of this world, call upon you one last time. If you are not so lost that you can no longer hear us, listen to our plea.”

The abomination of maggots and slime stilled as Dia realised that Risti had chanted a ritual verse. Did that thing regain awareness? Or was it drawn by the way reality had distorted with Risti’s words?

Bell chimes filled the warehouse again. “Discard your ambition and obsession. Your friends are waiting for your return. Your parents are looking for you. If you long for their touch and yearn to return, I implore you to sever your source of power. We will save you.”

Risti paused once. “Your time of greatness has long passed. Return to mortality, or return to dust. I, Risti Cadenza, offer you one last chance. Within three chimes, shatter your obsession and your power, or be slain where you stand.”

The ceremonial sword in her hand rose, and the small bell in her hand chimed once.

Twice.

Thrice.

“So be it.” Risti rang the bell. “Eternal guardians of our world, I pray that you cleanse this lost soul upon its release, and lead her to her final rest.”

“I have witnessed the refusal of one Miss Julie Luca to recant her power,” Nero intoned, unsheathing his own sword with a metallic hiss. “Her execution begins thence.”

He stepped into the circle and unsheathed his blade with a metallic hiss. With controlled, measured steps, Nero closed in on the trapped Aberration and raised his sword, before cladding it in a thick shroud of mana. He looked at the mass of white insects once, and then glided forward, the sword in his hands turning into a flash of lightning. Flicking his sword twice, he slid the weapon back into the sheath as multiple black gashes tore through the cage and the abomination.

A pillar of black and blue erupted from the ground a moment later, eradicating whatever remained of the Aberration and the cage it occupied. The circle below flared up with a prismatic radiance a second later, and the pillar of power vanished from existence, wiped away by a massive presence.

Dia’s eyes widened at what could only be the intervention of the Moons, and felt fear crawl up her spine. Fortunately, the presence had showed no other intention, and simply left after retrieving whatever it had come for.

Nero, who had nearly fallen over after that attack, stood up straight slowly. Clearly, that attack had taken a lot out of him, which was probably why he could unleash such a blinding strike that Dia herself didn’t think she could block.

“We’re done here,” Nero announced. “Time to go. I suppose you two newbies have a bunch of questions anyway, so let’s talk after we cleanse ourselves. Risti, do you have the skillstrips?”

“Yeah. I found a bunch of Cleanse skillstrips on sale,” Risti replied. “Gather around me, guys. Use the skillstrips on the spot.”

A refreshing wave of energy washed through Dia as she tore the skillstrip into two pieces, and something clammy seemed to lift from her body. “Thanks, Risti.”

“It’s just standard operating procedure, but I’ll accept your thanks anyway.” Risti sighed. “I don’t think that ritual has ever worked, though. It’s the same formulaic recital, and I’ve never seen it actually work before.”

Nero nodded. “But it’s my responsibility to say that, apparently. Have to give the Aberration one last chance to give up their mana circuits. Most of them are too far gone to actually take in our words, though. And the other half are too obsessed with getting stronger that telling them to sever their mana circuits is no different from telling them to die.

“So it’s never worked before?” Dia asked.

“We do it anyway. In times of peace, there’s the luxury of having the divinities do the cleansing and escorting for us. The soul that’s been ravaged by Limbo is granted some respite and taken away.” Nero jiggled his shoulders. “You felt that presence, right? When we recite the ceremonial words, we draw the attention of divinities, and they help us in escorting the dead from the place.”

“Isolate them and everything,” Risti added. “I think the gods don’t want these corrupted souls from actually spreading their corruption. We just destroyed their physical vessels, after all. Their souls definitely need cleansing. Anyway, this is what the Eternal Bulwark has been doing sporadically since the dawn of time. Once knowledge of Limbo is completely expunged and no one decides to defy common sense, our job will be over.”

“I’m sure there’s always be people who struggle to live, though,” Nightfall muttered.

“Really?” Nero snorted. “Count Nightfall, how many mana-users have you captured for execution over three decades?”

Nightfall furrowed his brows. “Twenty-nine, I think.”

“How many of them burst out with a desire to live when you executed them, taking you by surprise as they drew power from seemingly nowhere?” Nero pressed on.

“I see your point.” Nightfall breathed out slowly. “None of them definitely had extra mana coming from nowhere. While they showed fear, they were already aware that there was no getting out from their current predicament, so they simply died. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Correct. And the other type of death is usually instantaneous, when your attack kills or mortally wounds them on the spot. The will to live can’t even be mustered up in such cases,” Nero replied. “However, if they are aware that there’s a power source that they can tap on at any point in time, things would have been very different in your case. It’s a matter of knowledge. That’s all.”

Nightfall nodded.

“The will to live is admirable, but it can be distorted madly,” Nero replied. “And in the end, this distortion usually results in a far greater disaster. Most attacks are played off as monster attacks, however, and sometimes, we spend ages tracking the target down after it flees.”

“These incidents are very rare, though. We’re not fighting against Aberrations, to be honest. We’re fighting against the knowledge of Limbo,” Risti replied. “It’s a long, secret war that tends to result in the aggregation of important people.”

Dia rolled her eyes. “I feel really important now, thanks.”

Everyone laughed for a few seconds, before Nero cleared his throat. “Anyway, that’s the usual procedure for executing an Aberration. I’ll send the ritual chants to you guys…but I doubt we’ll use it more than ten times in the next millennium.”

“Millennium?” Dia echoed.

“Yeah, millennium. Most of us usually live for that long, unless we die of unnatural causes,” Nero replied. “After all, the divinities don’t really want to kill members of the Eternal Bulwark, even if there’s a conflict. Remember, every last one of us is a potential Aberration too. If they push us too hard…”

“Wow, we’re now threatening the divinities,” Count Nightfall noted in a dead voice. “I am very happy about this.”

“All for a good cause. The Lord doesn’t seem to mind, anyway.” Nero stretched his neck. “Alright, this nasty distraction is officially over. I’ll just teach you guys the usual codes and burn them into your subconscious, and we’ll probably forget about this for the next few decades.”

“We now need to deal with a familiar spirit. Joy.” Risti paused. “He or she should be arriving soon, right? Nightfall, you’re going to have to ward that familiar spirit off for us. Thanks.”

“Ugh. I just want to spend time with Caroline. Why can’t I do that? There’s a Count Daybreak, and now there’s a familiar spirit. I’m so done.” Nightfall muttered under his breath. “I’m going to evict them into a small shed or something. Me and Caroline are entitled to our own alone time.”

“Why not just get Daybreak to handle the familiar spirit?” Nero asked. “It’s his domain that’s affected to begin with. While you’re at it, go get the Moon Emissary to do his damn job.”

Nightfall paused. “Your middle name has to be Genius, right? That’s a damn good idea. See you guys in a bit.”

He hurried off with a demeanour that made Dia pity the unfortunate, impoverished count living rent-free in the Nightfall Palace. The others chuckled awkwardly at the same time, coughing and clearing their throat with an expression so fake that it was probably illegal in some city.

“So, uh…who’s going to tell that guy?” Nero asked.

“Just let Nightfall settle everything,” Farah replied. “We nobles have our own pride too, okay? Don’t go butting into things like this. Let the nobles handle their own stuff.”

Dia decided not to say anything regarding that particular bit.

“So, we’re now left with one giant threat on the horizon, right?” Nero muttered. “Can’t we just kill the guy or something? He and a few other Coloured Gods are probably not going to survive the Fourth Godsfall anyway, since their Bearers of Destiny have died.”

“Can someone actually explain how the whole thing is going to work?” Farah complained.

“Unless you want your head blown up, I guess.” Nero grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll run commentary as events unfold so that everyone isn’t lost.”

“…What are you, exposition?” Dia asked.

“Clarissa’s probably doing the same for Ruler Istrel, so you guys should feel really, really honoured,” Nero replied. “Anyway, let’s go back. That familiar spirit should be coming soon.”

Dia looked back at the warehouse, where the setup of four mirrors facing outwards dazzled her eyes. No one could have guessed that a monster of slimy insects had been executed there, in the presence of the Moons. How did it feel to know that she had taken part in an extra-legal execution done to safeguard the world?

It sounded nice and all, but Dia couldn’t help but feel like the whole thing was messed up.

Sighing once, she followed the others out. The familiar spirit of the Red God was going to arrive soon, and there were things to be done. Whatever they did earlier would have to be tucked into the back of their minds and nothing else.

For everyone’s sake.

[End of Book 8: Darkness Descends]